Wild Ways

by Tina Wainscott

  “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing those words were of little consolation.

  “He was a big believer in stepping back and letting people stew in their mistakes, because that was the only way they would ever learn from them. Hitting bottom can be the catalyst for a person changing their life. He was always telling me, ‘You can’t control other people’s behavior, beliefs, or perceptions. All you can control is your own.’ ”

  “What do you think he’d say about me? Run the other way? Another drowning victim, boy.”

  Julian regarded her for a few moments. “Are you drowning?”

  His question sank down to her bones. “Weren’t you going to update Chase? If we leave soon, we can be in Chicago by nightfall, I imagine.”

  He gave her a look that indicated he knew she was changing the subject but mercifully let it go. She was drowning, but some of that had to do with her growing feelings for him.

  He extracted his phone, pinching the bridge of his nose as he filled Chase in. Dead ends. Missing witnesses. It was nothing new in Mollie’s journey. Julian had to be as frustrated as she was. But he didn’t have a personal stake in this. He could disengage, head on his way, and forget all about it. She almost wished he would drop the other shoe already.

  I know I’m putting up walls, but there’s a good reason. He will leave, sooner or later. I can’t let myself depend on him.

  Or fall for him.

  As crazy as it sounded, as far from her mind as that should be, a part of her was falling for the sexy Latino. Not only his physique, his strength, and his skills. His kind heart and tenderness called to that place she had buried deep inside her.

  “I contacted an FBI friend about the missing women,” Chase said on the speaker. “He pulled some data and found a disturbing pattern. For the last three years, six to eight women have been reported missing along the route from Oklahoma City to Chicago between April through July. The authorities haven’t officially put it together because the disappearances are spread over several states. Since the missing are troubled adults who left voluntarily, there were no actionable crimes to investigate. Three years ago, in early August, two women’s bodies were found in a wooded area two hours from Chicago. Both were last seen hitchhiking, and one was spotted in the company of a bike club, but the witness couldn’t—or wouldn’t—recall which one. Last August another woman’s body was recovered from Lake Michigan.”

  Julian ran his finger along the route they’d been taking. “It looks like someone is collecting women.”

  Mollie sank down to the bench, suddenly feeling cold despite the warm day. “For strip clubs, maybe.”

  Julian said, “It doesn’t make sense for a strip joint to brutalize and kill their dancers. They’d have to constantly recruit more.”

  “But it’s not constant,” Mollie reminded him. “There seems to be a big push during the early summer months. Then some of the women end up dead by August. And those are the ones that were found.”

  “The police weren’t able to find out much about how they died due to decomposition,” Chase said. “They believe they’d been cut and beaten. Probably raped.”

  Julian and Mollie sat in the silence of that for a moment. She tried to hold on to hope. “But Di wasn’t a woman running away from her life. She left to be with Brick.” Mollie’s sense of relief dissipated fast. “But now she’s unclaimed. The ol’ lady I spoke with was afraid of being sent to Chicago. So they obviously do use the women in their clubs for whatever it is that they’re doing. And it’s going to happen soon.”

  Julian reached out with his leg and pressed it against hers, a totally nonthreatening way to comfort her. “Chase, can you use that resource genie you’ve obviously got to dig up all the strip clubs in Chicago, especially any owned by known members of the Kings?”

  “Will get right on it. I assume you’re heading to Chicago.”

  “You got it.” Julian stood, scooped up all the wrappers, and dumped them into the garbage can. “I’m going to call Rath to come up, too.”

  “Good,” Chase said. “I was going to suggest that. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  She stared at a faint path leading into the woods. She felt an urge to run, just run into those woods and never come back. As eager as she was to see her sister, the fear of finding her in a drugged-out state writhing against a pole terrified her. The fear of her sister wanting to stay there, even more so. And the fear of not finding her at all …

  She stood, like a robot, and walked into the woods. The sun reached down through the leaves, dappling the ground. The smell of the earth filled her nose, and she breathed it deep. Here, she was free. In nature, where things were so simple. Branches cracked beneath her shoes as she stepped off the path, seeing nothing but more trees all around. She heard footsteps behind her. Julian, who would, of course, not let her wander away alone.

  Yes, her white knight. For now.

  She came to a stop, restraining herself from turning around to explain her impulsive foray into the woods. He came up behind her, the front of his body easing up against her back, his arms wrapping around her like a shield. There was nothing sexual about his holding her. She could feel no evidence that he had any intentions of turning this into more. But she wanted more. Her body tingled with the wanting, memories of the night before still thrumming through her. Everywhere he touched heated her. She leaned her head back against his chest.

  “I want …” She hadn’t meant to speak it. The want, the need, had come out on its own.

  “What, Mollie? I’ll give you whatever you want,” he said in a soft, low voice near her ear. “Anything. All you have to do is ask.”

  That offer felt like warm honey washing over her soul. Anything. He would give her anything. She closed her eyes and leaned completely against him.

  “I want you to touch me.”

  His body came alive with those words, hardening against her back. “Tell me exactly, querida.” He moved his hand lower, sliding between her breasts, stopping on her lower stomach. “Here?”

  “I want …” No, he wouldn’t make this easy, would he? There was nothing soft or easy about him, physically or otherwise. “I want to feel like I did last night.”

  He unzipped her pants and pushed them down to her hips. His fingers dipped over her panties, a slow caress. No man had ever touched her the way he did, soft and slow as though they had all the time in the world. No man had ever touched her inside like he did either.

  What was she doing? This was crazy, this carnal need. It’s not carnal, not wholly, a voice whispered in her mind. It’s much more than that.

  “What if someone comes down the path?” she asked, trying to pull herself out of this sensual fugue state.

  “The only one coming will be you. Get out of your head,” he whispered. “Open yourself to the experience.”

  Opening herself went against everything she held on to. Her protection. Self-preservation. But she had asked for this. And she would take it. She spread her legs, which also helped stabilize her since her legs were all jelly-ish. His fingers slid beneath the top edge of her panties and explored her intimate folds. She was already wet for him, slippery and aching for more of his touch. His other hand slid under her shirt and caressed her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra. She reached up and dragged her fingers through his hair, arching into his touch by the very motion.

  “I want to hear how good it is, Mollie,” he coaxed, pushing up her bra.

  Talk? She could barely breathe. He was pushing her to express herself. He could have just touched her body, gotten her off, and be done with it. But no, he wanted to touch her soul.

  His hand covered one breast, squeezing. His thumb and finger gently pinched her nipple. She released the moan she’d been holding back, punctuated by her heaving breaths. His erection was full and hard on her lower back, and she rubbed against him. That made him elicit a soft growl, and he ground back and nibbled at her neck. The thought of him inside her, that hard length of him thrusting, sent her ov
er the edge. She was washed away by pleasure, clenching her fingers in his hair. He was still touching, stroking, but she wanted more.

  She turned and kissed him. “Devoured” would be a better term, hungrily, wantonly. She unbuttoned his jeans, unzipped them, and pushed both them and his briefs down to his hips. Her fingers wrapped around him, hot and slick at the tip. He groaned into her mouth, diving into an even deeper kiss.

  “I want you … inside me,” she said between kisses. She kicked off her shoes and toed off her socks as they continued to devour each other.

  “Oh, querida, I’m more than happy to oblige.”

  He pushed her pants all the way down, and she stepped out of them. He hoisted her legs up, and she wrapped them around his waist. She pulled off his shirt, which was a bit of a feat since he was holding her. But she wanted to see him, feel him. She felt the trunk of a tree press up against her back. He reached into his back pocket and extracted a condom. One-handed, he tore it open with his teeth and rolled it down over his cock, then, holding her hips, pressed the tip against her opening.

  He kissed her as he eased in, filling her, stretching her. She had never felt this way the first time she’d been with someone. Being with Julian was so easy, so right. Be easy with me. His earlier request, when they’d acted like a couple who’d been having sex … a hundred different ways. As he slowly thrust in and out, she whispered, “You are so easy to be with.”

  The swirling sensation in her chest swept away her words, her breath, her thoughts. She ran her fingers over the contours of his chest, down the ridges of his stomach. But then she needed an anchor, so she tightened her fingers over his shoulders, nails digging in.

  “Mmm, so are you, Mollie.”

  She loved the sound of her name on his lips, with his own breath catching. He stroked her breast with one hand, kissed her, and thrust in perfect rhythm. She wasn’t sure if the birds she heard singing were her imagination. Everything was perfect in this moment.

  He wrapped his hands beneath her bottom and lowered her to a nearby patch of grass. He lifted one of her legs, and she hooked it over his shoulder. This time he drove into her, sucking away her breath. He looked gorgeous, infused with pleasure, hovering over her in what looked like a low push-up. The intensity in his green eyes only increased the building pleasure inside her, looking at her as though she were the most beautiful creature on earth.

  He made those delicious sounds, more guttural than what he’d uttered while eating or even when he’d gotten himself off. Groans, softly uttered words in Spanish that sounded as though they were wrenched from his very soul. He pushed her shirt up, exposing her breasts, and lowered his mouth to one of them. His tongue was hot as it laved her. He sucked and licked before moving to her other breast. She watched, oddly fascinated by the sight of his mouth moving over her skin, and beyond, their bodies moving together. His flat stomach, muscles rippling with his movements, pelvis thrusting against hers.

  No, more than fascinated. Aroused. All of it swirled inside her, the freedom of this impulsive act in the woods, of being free … the orgasm shuddered through her, rocking her to her core. She clutched him, as though she might be blown away by the gust of feeling inside her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and let his own wave of pleasure wash over him. His breath pulsed over her skin as it sawed in and out. He pulled her into his arms and collapsed as he turned so that she was on top of him.

  He let his gaze draw down over her as he caught his breath. “You totally took me off guard,” he said.

  “Me, too,” she said in her own breathlessness. “I had no intention of …” She shook her head, because she still couldn’t believe it, even as she lay partially naked with him still inside her. “This. You woke something in me last night. I wanted more.”

  He placed his hand on her collarbone. “Taking pleasure fills your well. You’ve been depleted a long time.”

  “I’ve never filled this particular well. Sex was sex. It was never like this.”

  A touch of male ego showed through his smile. “I’m happy to fill your well anytime.”

  She covered her eyes. “But I feel so guilty, having fun while my sister goes through God knows what.”

  “You suffering does not help her. If you’re starving and crying and denying yourself any kind of pleasure, how could it possibly affect what’s going on with her?”

  She rearranged her bra, then pulled her shirt down. “It doesn’t, when you put it that way. Still, it just feels …” Not wrong. Not bad. She couldn’t assign those words to what they’d done. She disengaged, found her pants and shoes, and shook them out.

  He yanked up his jeans and zipped them. Then he reached down to help her to her feet. “Just let it feel good, Mollie.” He swiped up his shirt and pulled it over that gorgeous chest. Then he took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Consider it as necessary as eating, drinking, and sleeping. Because it is.” He gave her a kiss, drawing her lower lip between his teeth and tugging before releasing her. “It definitely is.”

  The problem was, she was starting to see him the same way.

  Chapter 10

  They rolled into Chicago, grabbed a quick bite, and stopped at a drugstore to buy two cans of dark brown hair spray. She applied it in the parking lot, nearly choking on the fumes. But a quick check in the restroom mirror showed just enough of a difference in her looks. Before long, they were winding their way through a part of the city that wasn’t particularly nice. Mollie tried to hold on to the beauty of the woods in her mind. Peaceful. Invigorating. Beautiful.

  Sexually awakening.

  No, she didn’t want to think about that, or especially how she’d begged Julian to make love to her. What was happening to her? He definitely had woken some part of her she hadn’t even known existed. That part was nice, actually. Scary, but nice. Her body had never felt so alive.

  The part that was even scarier? She was falling for this incredible, sensual, protective warrior. Not in the way she’d ever “fallen” for the few men she’d dated, either. Julian did not fit into that comfortable rescue-me prototype that drew her, but draw her he did. The same way, perhaps, that he’d admitted she had drawn him back at the gas station. He hadn’t drawn her then. She had noticed he was gorgeous, but only in that scary-biker-please-stop-looking-at-me way. Now he looked at her with hungry intent, and she felt all warm and gooey inside. And aroused.

  You can have sex all you want, enjoy him while you have him. Just don’t get attached, because he’s going to leave. They all do. Keep your walls up.

  Hell, she was trying. Every time she found some reason to distrust him, it was a relief. Then he explained himself and poof, there it went. And something else grew stronger, deeper. But he was part of a team that killed innocent people. Maybe he’s trying to make up for that by helping you. Maybe that’s all you’re about, assuaging his conscience.

  Yes, there was that blessed wall again. It allowed her to unwrap herself from him.

  “You all right?” he called back.

  “Fine. My back’s just stiff.”

  “We’re almost there.”

  To where Di might be. Mollie’s stomach was a twist of knots and tension as they drove past their destination. Chase had called with the name of Hidden Assets. Damon James owned it and had been implicated in an undercover sting four years ago along with two other members of the Kings of Chaos. Charges had been dropped against James, but his name had gone into the database of known gang members.

  “Hidden Assets,” the sign proclaimed, but the graphics made it clear that the assets inside would not be so hidden. They pulled around the side to the half-full parking lot. Julian found a strategic spot, as usual, with the bike ready to exit without any additional maneuvering. She climbed off first. Julian got it up on the kickstand and dismounted as well. They hung their helmets on the handlebars.

  Julian flashed her a smile. “Ready for our role?”

  “I think I’ll be better at it than I was last time.”

 
He pulled her flush up against him, running his hand down her back to her behind. “Now you’re easy with me.”

  “Very. Maybe too easy.”

  “Don’t let it scare you. Go back to the woods, and be that woman here.”

  “Because we’re a horny couple who likes to go to strip clubs to get aroused by watching women dancing naked.” She couldn’t quite get her head around that. “Do I want to know what the friction means?” She was staring at one of the signs on the front of the building. “Yes, I do. I want to know what to expect.”

  “It means that if you get a lap dance, she will probably grind into your lap. And sometimes the girls will let you touch their boobs or their ass.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close as they reached the door, where a big bruiser of a man waited to collect the so-called entertainment charge.

  Their plan was to attract as little attention as possible. Coming in as a couple would garner them some attention, but it wasn’t all that rare. At least that’s what Julian had said. Because obviously he’d been to this kind of club before. She really didn’t want to think about him having a lap dance with some busty, curvy chick in a G-string.

  They walked into a large room with lots of neon lighting. The place was busy, about eighty percent filled. Colored stage lights shot across the room. Music pounded, a rock song where the lead singer welcomed them to the show, singing “ladies and gentlemen.” On the stage, a woman with long blond hair danced with a pole, or around a pole, or whatever it was called. She rubbed her lace-covered bottom against the pole and then bent over. Groups of men, from their early twenties to probably midseventies, sat around the stage with their folded bills at the ready. The dancer’s string held so many that it looked like ruffles at her waist.

  This place was so out of Mollie’s comfort zone, and lately, that was saying something. She instantly knew the dancer wasn’t Di. She was curvy, but the girl onstage had double D’s at least. The dancer watched as Julian led Mollie to a small table in the corner, where they settled in next to each other. Or, more accurately, she was probably looking at Julian.